Study after study has documented that many LGBTQ people experience psychological distress because of minority stress – in other words, the stress of being denied equality, whether because they Read more...

“Safe space” is a phrase that comes up frequently in our work — so frequently, in fact, that I had not stopped to fully and truly consider its meaning for a long time. Until last week.

In the LGBTQ community, we think of safe spaces as places like bars, clubs and community centers, where people gather to be themselves, to express themselves, to be affectionate with one another, to seek friendship, support and love. The idea is that a safe space allows you to do any or all these things fearlessly and without judgment.

All of us are reeling from the news of early Sunday morning’s mass murder at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida that has left at least 49 people dead and many more severely injured.

As more details about the tragic act of violence have been confirmed, we now know that this was a deliberate attack on an LGBTQ space, and specifically a space for queer Latinx people, who made up the vast majority of those killed and wounded, to come together and find community. It is believed that at least half of those murdered were Read more...

It is now clear that the attack that happened at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub was motivated by hatred of LGBTQ people. This attack was perpetrated against a largely Latinx crowd on a night designed to bring people together, to celebrate community in what should have been a safe space.

While messages of support and solidarity have been expressed throughout the country, we have so much more work to do as a community, as a nation, and as a society for all LGBTQ people to feel safe, healthy, accepted, and equal.

Washington West Project

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